


The Monster Pulling Strings

by anodyneAvian, skybean



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Twins, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, On Hiatus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4285311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anodyneAvian/pseuds/anodyneAvian, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skybean/pseuds/skybean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The two are raised in the twenty-fourth, closer beyond measure.  Eto is the big and strong one, the scary one, the one willing to hurt others, and Ken is the small one, the gentle one, the one willing to be hurt.  Separated when they’re barely a decade, the two find themselves on opposite ends of what choices a half ghoul has before them, and nothing ever truly remains the same for them.  (Alternate Universe, tags and rating subject to change, will be added as needed)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for the record: this is an au where Eto and Kaneki are twins. Eto's age has been adjusted to Kaneki's own, and the timeline has been fiddled with appropriately. this chapter's been rewritten since its original publishing date (as of 2/6/2016) - connor

“Kuzen.”

“...Noroi.”

“So… this is the baby?” Noroi said, looking down at the child nestled in Kuzen’s arms. “What’s her name?”

“Eto,” Kuzen replied, the name hanging on his tongue. “And this… this is the other one I mentioned, her twin…”

“So he survived then? You said he was sickly in comparison to his sister.”

“He was, but he’s mostly healthy now,” Kuzen explained. “His name is Ken. Please, take good care of them.”

“Hello there, Eto… Ken,” Noroi said softly, giving a little smile to the sleeping children.

* * *

 

The very first thing Ken remembered was when he was four, and his beautiful twin sister sat next to him and helped to make sure the flesh stayed in his mouth. A messy eater, she called him and cooed softly–and it had always been like that; Eto has been the strong one, and Ken has been the gentle one. And so today, when they are eight, it was the other way around; Eto was barely moving, trying to hold part of her body together from an injury from a kagune, and Ken was helping her eat by offering up his own flesh. The action was something neither twin was particularly fond of doing, but these days, it had become a necessity; they have to eat, after all. Ken’s kagune hasn’t emerged yet (though he’ll be an ukaku too, most likely, unless their father was a hybrid—), and Eto’s control over her own is still weak, and last month, when Eto’s kagune had emerged—

Ken winced as he felt his sister’s teeth dig back into his arm again. Feeling her teeth was a sensation he had not yet grown used to, but the young half-ghoul found it hard to dislike it, especially as he watched his sister’s stomach began to heal up, leaving only the traces of her own spilt blood all over the ground of the small cavern they had hidden themselves in.

The room itself wasn’t that big—barely big enough for an adult, approximately four metres by four metres—and it had a mass of old, matted blankets in the corner, where the two slept, and a few books. Noroi—or Noro, as they often called him—had been looking for a better place for them to live, of course, but the twenty-fourth ward wasn’t known for being particular luxurious. They often moved around to avoid conflict with stronger ghouls, though now both the twins were getting better at protecting themselves, which made Noroi a little more okay with getting into fights. Noroi—their sweet, quiet caretaker—had taught them one of the greatest gifts of all—how to read, and write, and how to use the books as power. So between their mother’s diary—supposedly given to Noro by their mysterious father—what Noroi had called a ‘kanji dictionary,’ and another two or three books about the world, Ken and Eto had learnt what words were.

And while Ken loved words, Ken also loved the words Eto used more than anything—the stories she would tell with her own words. His sister had a gift for words, and the capacity to bring a story to life the way he knew nobody else capable of. And that, really, was one of the most amazing things about Eto; the way she could use words to paint images and stories unlike anything else Ken had ever really known.

Noroi had told them stories, when they were even younger, but once Eto’s storytelling skills began to develop, she insisted in providing the entertainment. Noro didn’t fuss too much, never one for long conversations. He barely even talked to those they didn’t know well.

But back to the present—and Eto had finally pulled away from Ken’s arm, her kakugan in her right eye gleaming brightly as she licked at the blood on her lips.

“You taste good,” she mumbled, cleaning the rest of Ken’s blood off her own face as she looked back at her twin. “Ah—thank you for the meal. I’m done now.”

Ken smiled a bit and watched his own arm begin the healing process. Eto had always made sure he was more well-fed, and while he hadn’t eaten in the last few days, he was still in a better condition than she had been. Noroi always tried to keep them both equally fed, of course, but Eto had protective streak when it came to her her twin brother. And if that meant forcing Ken to eat part of her own meal, then so be it.

“You’re welcome,” he said, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her back towards the pile of blankets that made up their bed. “You need to rest, or you’re never gonna get better, Eto. Do you want Noroi to get mad at you again for being stubborn?”

Eto giggled after a moment as she and Ken wrapped themselves up in the blankets. “You too.” She murmured, patting his hair, “I’m sorry for having to bite you.”

“Eto…” Ken sighed, shaking his head, “It’s fine. Really.” He wrapped his arms around his sister, saying softly, “If we’re still pretty bad off tomorrow, we could always try hunting again? Maybe even on our own… if Noroi is busy.” He didn’t like doing it—didn’t like the violence, killing people; it always seemed horrible to him. Noroi didn’t like them having to do it. They were children, he’d say, but they still snuck off occasionally. They weren't stupid, after all. They could see the effect the stress of having to hunt for himself and two small, hungry children was having on him. It was just easier if they learned how to hunt now, even if he thought they should wait.

In the end, he could kill, but Ken couldn’t help feeling that this wasn’t the life their parents had in mind for them. Eto was the exact opposite, he supposed; Eto had said more than once, if their parents had really loved a ‘thing like them’ then of course they wouldn’t have left their children down in the twenty-fourth ward, would they?

Those are questions about the tragedy that their lives are that Ken would prefer to never have to answer.

* * *

They’ve never been outside before. Either of them, though Noroi had—they know a way out, and into the Twentieth Ward of all places (it’s peaceful there. As long as they stay out at night and keep their heads down, well, hopefully it’d work out for the best—) but they’ve never really been outside before. But today, like most days, Eto and Ken were hungry, and neither were in much of a shape to be fighting other ghouls for a corpse or two, on their own. No… Ken had just gotten his kagune, and there was something weird going on with Eto, and it was too dangerous; last time, she had grown this strange armour, and had begun rampaging, and Ken had gotten separated and lost and Noroi had found him crying, scared beyond belief and—

It was too dangerous. Even Noroi agreed.

So dangerous, in fact, that although they had begun to explore the world, they had quickly realised they were getting stares—they didn’t fit in with the way people perceived children to behave. From the way they dressed, to the way the twins shied away from other humans at first (they didn’t smell like Noroi at all… none had his sharp features and soft voice). It was obvious all around, and it made Eto and Ken run and hide away from most people, even if they enjoyed the fresh air, and the way the world smelt around them.

Of course, there were other ghouls. There always were. And ghouls did tend to think that the two were easy prey. Which brought them to the current scenario.

Ken, as usual, had ducked a bit behind his sister, his messy white hair hiding under his twin’s mess of green, as Eto held her arms out protectively, her kakugan in her right eye activated. She glared up at the person—significantly bigger than them, with a dumb name—shaking a bit.

While Ken knew Eto didn’t mind fighting to protect him, he almost felt bad. Poking his head up, his own kakugan in his left eye bright as well, he weakly glared at the person as well, even as his fingers tightened his grip on his sister’s clothes.

“You touch him again, and I’ll eat you,” Eto hissed out. “You don’t wanna mess with us. We’re from the twenty-fourth.”

The ghoul—a big man, easily four or five times Eto’s size, a large mop of black hair that clearly hadn’t been washed since the last rainstorm, possessive and dangerous eyes—leaned back and laughed, one of the dark red tentacles from his rinkaku kagune moving around to try and wrap around the children.

“Sure, squirt,” he mimed wiping a tear from his eyes. “The hell’s wrong with your kakugans? What kind of freaks are—”

He doesn’t get the rest of the sentence out, Ken noted. He’d become so used to Eto’s violence that it doesn’t even startle him, the whooshing sound of Eto releasing her kagune, the RC cells form the familiar blade-shapes of their shared ukaku kagune being released, and going through the other’s skull.

Ken found himself licking his lips—on one hand, the ghoul didn’t smell half as delicious as a person did, but he watched the brain matter of the ghoul land, even as the corpse promptly fell over, and Ken looked at Eto for a moment, who merely turned to look at him properly, her kagune dissipating as she asked softly, “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Ken shook his head, covering his sister’s cheeks with his hands, looking in her eyes (they were normally green like their mother’s, according to the journal. He could tell now, Eto had her looks, and was going to be a beauty, when (IF) she grew up) for a moment, his own resembling the steel the twins both had in them. “No,” he murmured, his right thumb caressing her cheek. “No, it’s okay. Just a little bruised up. I’m healing already.”

He found his gaze being redirected to the body, eyeing the soft flesh of the man’s thighs with that same burning hunger in his gut that Ken had felt around the humans, before he licked his lips, looking back at Eto with a small smile, grinning nervously.

“Thank you for the meal, Eto-chaaaa~aaan.” He cooed after a moment, and Eto giggled as well, kissing Ken’s head, before she pulled him over to the body.

“Haaa,” Eto sighed as they sat down. Going for his pockets, feeling for a wallet, Eto looked up at Ken, giggling a bit. “You can have his thighs! I know they’re your favourite.” She cooed softly.

And while Eto fumbled for money, Ken’s stomach burned, and he began tearing at the flesh, feasting on it. On one hand, the meat was poor, grimy, but the flesh of other ghouls was a taste Ken was accustomed to, and he ate hungrily, unsure of when he would eat again.

He heard Eto fumble with the body then, and just sighed as he heard his sister slurping out the eyes instead. He didn’t like them—they were squishy and slimy, normally—and just looked over at Eto, smiling at her as she chewed and swallowed.

“I think we’ve got enough money to get you some clothes and maybe something for Noroi,” she mumbled, “And then, maybe, we can get you to get some people?” She looked at him nervously, “Humans just look like they taste better and—”

Ken swallowed, just nodded as they continued to eat, mindless of the sounds of other ghouls becoming attracted to where the two kids were. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. It’ll be great,” he mumbled, shoving more flesh into his mouth.

He felt the moral qualm, deep down, about leading innocent people to their death, but even as he felt the other ghouls close in, and he and Eto stood to face them, Ken found himself looking for his sister, and knowing that, so long as she remained near him, they could be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh can you tell me, can you tell me the way that this should work?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before you read, we rewrote the first chapter to accommodate for new information! We won’t rewrite much after this, don’t worry… Anyways, this chapter is much longer, which is why it took awhile, on top of school and other stuff. Cant say when the next chapter is, we’re really bad at updating, BUT we have a plan for the entire story :3c -brittney

“You went outside, didn’t you?” Noroi said, giving them a cold, stern look. Ken kept his hands folded neatly behind his back, right foot digging nervously into the dirt. Though Eto looked less guilty, even she couldn’t meet Noroi’s eyes.

It wasn’t often that Noroi was mad at them. He was a lax caretaker, very kind, only showing his darker side whenever they were threatened by other ghouls—especially back before their kagune appeared.

Noroi had told them that kagune normally came in a bit before puberty, but to his surprise, they had gotten it long before that. He eventually told them about RC cells, explaining in as child friendly words as possible. He told them that their diet of ghouls likely raised their RC cell levels quickly, and thus they grew in their kagune at a much younger age.

“Well?” Noroi pressed, snapping Ken out of his thought.

“Y-yes,” he admitted, ignoring the annoyed look his sister gave him. There was no point in lying after all. Noroi already knew they had--after all, the last time they had gone out, they brought back things they had bought. They were hoping he wouldn’t notice but alas....

“I told you… it’s _dangerous._ You need to stay where it’s safe,” Noroi said, sighing a little.

“It’s dangerous here too! There’s ghouls everywhere and we’ve already almost died even with you here to protect us!” Eto snapped, finally meeting Noroi’s gaze. Once she did, though, she stepped back, shrinking in on herself. Even she hated upsetting Noroi.

“...It’s not the ghouls I’m worried about,” Noroi murmured, before putting a hand extending his hands out to them. The twins took them, walking along side him as they headed down the tunnel to their tiny home. “I don’t want you leaving the twenty-fourth.”

“But Noroi! I’m —We’re tired of being cooped up in this place all the time… It’s so dark and… sad. Outside it’s sunny and there’s cool things, right Ken?” Eto kicked him lightly, trying to urge him to agree with her.

“Uh, yeah! I like the fresh air and the plants and there’s new things that we could buy if we had some money… It’s really nice. Please, please! Can we go out still? We’ll love you forever!”

“Yeah, yeah, we will!” Eto agreed, jumping up and down a little. “And it’s the twentieth ward, too! The other ghouls and people say that’s a pretty safe place, and we ain’t been hurt yet!” A lie, but one Ken was fine with Eto telling if it meant he could leave the tunnels every once and awhile.

Noroi was silent as they went into the house. He had them sit down on their bed (more of a ratty mattress on the ground with some blankets than anything), looking ready to punish them, but with a glance at their puppy dog eyes (mastered, finally, over the course of a few years), his strength crumbled.  “I am upset at you, but if you want to go outside so badly, perhaps we can work it out. But for now, the two of you are grounded.”

Normally, Ken would have whined, but the prospect of being able to freely travel overrode any despair over being stuck in their little shack for a few days. He turned to Eto, giving her a small grin, one that she easily returned.

* * *

The plan was simple. They could only go out without Noroi’s supervision once a week. That was it. But otherwise, they had to have Noroi with them if they wanted to, and that meant adhering to his schedule. Still, it was nice to have some freedom, and as long as they didn’t break the rules and sneak out, Noroi would continue to allow them to leave.

They came to discover they enjoyed being outside, where there was fresh air, freedom, people, and all sorts of things unlike anything the pair had experienced before.  How much of it was really ‘freedom’, they didn’t know for sure, but Ken didn't actually care; he was happier with the sun on his face, and the air not tasting like the flesh of people he may have once known.

Eto was a troublemaker but Ken figured things would be alright in the end. His sister was strong. She’d live. On one level, Ken was aware that Eto was attracting attention—from other Ghouls, from the CCG, the Commission of Counter-Ghoul, the humans attempts at defeating them, as the twins had come to find out, little more than white-and-green-haired ukaku blurs around an investigator one day—but he couldn’t bring himself to actually care, with how amazing the outside world truly was.

For once in his life, Ken understood what freedom was.

Freedom was the ability to run around outside, like a normal kid. Between stolen clothes, stolen showers from unlocked homes when nobody was around, and things bought with whatever money Noroi could get, both he and Eto looked like a pair of relatively normal children, with a penchant of enjoying coffee and books. Eto had started writing down her stories, and had started reading to Ken the works of a man named Kafka.

Freedom was how they hid in plain sight.  How they ran around the wards like they were a home, and how, most importantly, Ken met a person with sunshine for hair, and a smile that spread so wide that it was possible that this person didn’t know any form of pain.

His name, as Ken had found out, was Nagachika Hideyoshi-kun, and he had just moved in, and was going to elementary school, and they met at a park in the twentieth ward whenever they could, delighted to have a friend their age.  They were ten—and as Hide (as he wanted to be called, had insisted on being called) told Ken, he was in his fourth year of elementary school.

(Ken had to look that up at a nearby library, using one of their computers that never ceased to amaze him.  Elementary school, he had found, started when you were six years old, and Hide had been born right after the date that determined what year you were in; he was born on the second of April.  School began the first of April.)

For a bit, this seemed unrealistic, and too pretty to ever really come across as anything truly permanent, but even as he found himself sneaking out again, this time, without Eto knowing, (she didn’t like him playing with humans, he had come to find out--neither did Noro) he didn’t actually find himself caring either way. Sure, he ran the risk of Noroi finding out and barring him from going out at all, but… he wanted that sweet taste of companionship so badly.

* * *

Eto, for her part, had not taken kindly to her brother vanishing.  She was fully aware of what he was doing; she could smell that human—boy?  girl? —she wasn’t too sure, either way. They always looked more than a little weird, as far as she was concerned—all over him, and it yanked at her heart in a way she didn’t like.

She didn’t like sharing Ken.

However, her personal preferences aside, Eto had become very preoccupied with  various other things moving along in their life.  It was strange, she had come to notice, that the ghouls in this ward had been particularly concerned that she and Ken both had only one kakugan.  That had been something, she knew, was due to their shared human halves, but she found herself truly wondering, in those moments.

Was it truly that strange?  To be half of something?  Two halves, logically, she knew, made a whole, but yet—they really did belong to no world.  Neither a human or a ghoul—for as humans, she found, they could never really live that way; they craved human flesh, she and Ken both.  And as a ghoul—they were superior in every way.  Stronger, faster, more monstrous than anything else that dared to stop them.

Granted, that could also be more due to the fact that Eto and Ken both consumed more ghoul flesh than human, and as such, were very much more of a kakuja than anything, but that was always a debate for another time, if a half ghoul was still stronger than a ghoul, cannibalistic tendencies aside.

So Eto followed Ken out one day.  She didn’t know if he knew how alluring he was, in comparison to a regular human, and how other ghouls seemed to be attracted to him—monsters to prey, if they weren’t aware of how much of a predator Ken himself was.  Then again, she supposed, the fragile way her brother looked, those big grey eyes behind white hair, with such delicate looking features all around—

Ken, Eto decided, was very much fragile and defenseless looking, smelt very good, and tasted very delicious.  He could not, and should not, be left alone, especially not with a strange human child as his only companion.

Humans were horrible.  Eto concluded that train of thought as she easily followed her brother through a crowd, doing her very best to avoid anybody who had a big bag—briefcase, backpack, she didn’t care.  Better to avoid an investigator altogether than to do anything else.  That was the best option; to avoid those whom could harm them, rather than potentially open themselves both up to an unknown threat (well, unless she was on her own…). Noroi had taught them all about investigators, why and how to avoid them, as well as about their quinque. Ken had looked very sick at the idea of kagune of dead ghouls being used as weapons. They, too, had come to face the investigators as they got older. They would often go down into the twenty-fourth to kill ghouls there, but Noroi was usually able to protect them, or if he wasn’t around, Ken and her usually went to hide—or ate and killed the investigator, on the off chance that they could overpower them. Eto tended to do that more than Ken.

For the moment, Ken was chasing Hide around the whale in the middle of the park, the two boys screaming their heads off.  Eto’s lips twitched, and she watched for a few minutes, looking around to make sure they were safe.  She watched a woman across from her, on a park bench, watching both boys, and did her best to note the similarities between Ken’s precious Hideyoshi and her.

They looked very much alike—the same brown eyes that showed too much kindness (or weakness?), the same lips and nose—in fact, with the exception of the cheekbones themselves, and the bright blond hair, it looked an awful lot as if Hideyoshi-kun was a carbon copy of his mother.  Not, exactly, that was a bad thing; Ken and Eto had a picture of their mother, in her journal, with their father, and it often looked as if Eto herself looked just like their mother, sans hair colour. Ken, on the other hand, resembled their (cowardly) father, only with softer features and light hair.

She wasn’t jealous, Eto had to tell herself as she walked away, head up, stance proud and tall, walking as she knew she was a threat.  She was most certainly not jealous of this pretend happiness, and she would refuse to be seen as anything close to jealous.  She would not--not now, and not ever.

* * *

“I ought to get going.”  Ken said softly, smiling adoringly at Hide.  “My sister’s gonna start looking for me soon, you know?  We need to go back home.”

“Five more minutes?”  Hide whined then.  Ken had gotten used to the way Hide would whine for more—willing to take, but also always willing to give.  That was the best part, he supposed—Hide was willing to meet him halfway, to make compromises—things that Ken couldn’t normally have.

“No—I really gotta go,”  Ken sighed a bit, shaking his head as he gave Hide a hug.  “I can see you tomorrow, maybe?  I think we have things to do tomorrow, though. My dad is always making sure we’re occupied.”

Hide laughed a little, squeezing Ken with a strength that no human ten year old had the right to have. “Yeah, yeah, it must be so annoying being homeschooled. See you, then, Ken-kun!”

Ken gave a sad smile as he waved, making his way down through the park, making sure no one was around before heading to the entrance to the tunnel system.

It wasn’t too hard to find, though it was hidden in a grimy, dark alley. Different pieces of wood had been placed in front of it—at one point, they had been nailed down, but someone had since pried it off, though only part way. One half was still attached, but Ken was small enough that he didn’t have trouble squeezing into the entrance, unlike Noroi.

He pulled up the boards, careful of the nails still embedded in the wood. He’d rather pick out splinters that would heal in no time flat than deal with a nail through the hand….

He swallowed, feeling like someone was watching him as he entered the dark staircase. His eyes fought to adjust to the sudden change in light, trying to make out each step as he walked. He could smell something… Had he walked into an ambush—

“Keeeeeen!” Eto cooed, jumping out and latching onto him. Ken stumbled, yelling out in surprise.

“What the heck?” Ken’s heart pounded in his chest. He gripped his too-small shirt, trying to calm his heart. Oh god, oh god… “You scared me!

“Yeah, that was the point,” she said, before grinning. “Why were you outside?”

Ken paled instantly, a million lies that he knew he would never utter running through his mind. They had already gone on their unsupervised trip for the week, so he knew he had been caught red handed. There was no other reason to be near the tunnel’s exit, and Eto likely had seen him come in anyways.

“It doesn’t matter, just don’t tell Noroi…” Ken said, trying to get passed her.

“Why?” she demanded, stepping in his way.

“Because we’ll get in trouble!” Ken replied, balling up his hands, nails digging into his skin. He didn’t like fighting with his sister…

“No, _you’ll_ get in trouble, not me, because _you_ were the one who went outside to go be with that stupid human!”

Ken bit his lip, lowering his head as he nervously played with his hands. “He’s my friend, Eto… it’s so lonely here, with only you and Noroi.”

“There’s other people here in the twenty-fourth, Ken,” Eto said, roughly grabbing his hand, yanking him along the dreary, uninviting tunnels. She gripped his flesh hard enough to bruise, he was sure.

“Yeah but we don’t exactly talk to most of them. This is _different_ , Eto. He doesn’t care about eating other people or anything! I don’t have to worry about him _killing me for once in my life!”_ Ken snapped, struggle to release himself from his sister’s hands.

Eto just held him tighter, whirling around to face him. “If he finds out, you know, he’ll tell the doves. He won’t seem so innocent then,” she said, voice cold and harsh. Ken swallowed, keeping his eyes down on the ground. His sister seemed so different… in the last few years, it was almost like she was another person. But he still loved her, he still trusted her… so, so much.

“...okay,” he murmured, swallowing back a voice crack. He wasn’t going to cry, he wasn’t going to cry, he wasn’t going to cry… But he liked Hide, really. He was his only friend.

Other than Eto, he supposed. At least he always had her. Noroi too, though he was more of a parent than a friend.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Eto did her best to ignore the fact that she was being a hypocrite, as she had snuck out too, but she was still upset at her brother.  

Noroi didn’t say anything as they entered, but Eto felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up when Noroi looked at her. She had a sinking feeling neither she nor Ken had been as sneaky as they were hoping.

“You know, Eto dear, I do have access to the news when I go out to the other wards,” he said, “and word of mouth travels even here.”

Eto stiffened. Or… maybe not, because she was pretty sure neither she nor Ken did anything _that_ newsworthy during their little jaunt out to the twentieth. She frowned, letting go of her brother’s hand. He shrunk away, not liking how tense the atmosphere became, and went to go lay down on their shared mattress.

Noroi stood up, putting his chipped coffee mug down. “Eto, you’ve been causing trouble, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, not meeting his piercing eyes. They were so sharp and cold when he was upset.

“I’ve heard about you attacking the CCG. The investigators here and—”

“It’s their fault for coming down here and trying to _fucking kill us!_ ” Eto snapped, baring her teeth as she finally looked Noroi in the eyes. For once, she found herself not backing down.

“Eto! Noroi’s right, that’s danger—” Ken cut in.

“Shut the fuck up and stay out of this, Ken!” Eto snapped, glaring at her twin.  Ken squeaked at the sound of her yelling, and then ducked under their blankets to block out any yelling.

Noroi gave a curt sigh. “But you’ve been leaving without permission and causing trouble outside of the twenty-fourth as well, Eto. You’ve been killing senselessly!”

“Why do you care so much?” Eto demanded, stomping her foot.

“Because, Eto, you could get us all _killed!_ Do you want the CCG hunting you and your brother down? I promised your father I’d protect you while you grew up down here—”

“So what!? Dad’s not even around! If he really cared so much about us, then why the hell did he dump us here and leave us with some stranger!” Eto snapped. “I don’t give a fuck about him or what he wants, not until he actually shows his cowardly little face! All he did was run away and let mom die, and abandoned us.” Eto took in a shaky breath. “And the point still stands: if they didn’t try to kill us, I wouldn’t be fighting back! Why do you and our ‘father’ want us to sit and wait to be slaughtered like we don’t know it’s coming?”

“Eto—” Noroi started. Eto didn’t listen, running out of their little home and into the inky dark of the twenty-fourth’s tunnels.

Ken peaked his head out of his blankets. “Sis?” he murmured, biting his lip nervously.

Noroi wringed his hands, glancing over at Ken. “Please, stay here, alright? I’m going to go find your sister and bring her back,” he said, before grabbing his coat and mask.

“Alright…” Ken replied, curling back up into the blankets. He wished he could be more helpful, to either of them.

* * *

Even a week after the fight, Eto smelled heavily of blood. It stung Ken’s nose, and a scent that once seemed so sweet to him was now bitter and sour. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the blood wasn’t the same blood she had come home covered in (who she had killed, he never did learn, but… she did seem happier).

Eto was spending more time on her own, though she didn’t ignore Ken like she did with Noroi. That was reassuring, plus Noroi had told him that he thought it was just temporary. Just a way for her to vent her anger.

“She’s not mad at either of us, I don’t think,” Noroi said one night, running his hand through Ken’s snow white hair to soothe him. “She’s just mad about her situation… about the situation with your father. I know you two wish your parents could be here but… it’s very complicated. I know you know that, from your mother’s diaries.”

Ken gave a weak nod, closing his eyes. “Yeah… I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too, Ken. Good night,” Noroi said, kissing his forehead.

Still, the scent of blood that constantly hung around Eto made Ken anxious. What was Eto doing out there, without him? He hadn’t gone to see Hideyoshi since their argument over him, but he was tempted to, if Eto was going out and doing things without him. Only… he really didn’t want her doing those things either.

At the very least, one day she brought back flesh for them to eat. Human flesh, too, nice and tender. Much better than what he was accustomed to eating. Noroi asked where it came from, but Eto only came the answer of ‘some annoying investigator’. Noroi ate it anyways, even if he looked upset with her. He probably knew, by now, that they were disobeying his rules, but Noroi seemed to be avoiding confronting them until Eto calmed down, lest she run away again.

Ken wished they’d make up. Eto had given an apology for her outburst towards him, but she had yet to even utter the word ‘sorry’ in Noroi’s presence.  But Eto was stubborn, and it showed—she wasn’t apologising.  She so rarely did, but even now, over something this big that Eto may have normally sucked up her pride to do, she wasn’t.

For the moment, Eto was gone today.  Ken had woken up to a bed with just him in it, and Noroi quietly pacing the room.

“What time is it?”  Ken asked softly, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  He rubbed at his nose next, feeling the cartilage roll around.

“It’s only nine or so,”  Noroi said after a moment, looking at his watch.  “Your sister must have went out early.  I was asking others, earlier,  if they had seen Eto, but…”

Ken nodded unhappily, stretching the rest of his body for a few long moments.  Something about today just _felt_ bad, the tension thick enough that someone could cut it with a kagune.

“Noroi,”  someone poked their head, voice muffled by their own full mask,  “can we talk?  Outside?”  A beat, and then they waved,  “Hi, Ken.”

Ken slowly waved back, unsure of who this was, or why Noroi went with them so easily.  “Come back soon, Noro,”  he said softly, moving to pick up a dog-eared book and humming nervously, trying to begin reading. It was hard, as he could still hear the two speaking from the hallway.

“You need to take Ken and Eto and leave.  There’s Doves down here, trying to find the twins,”  the person behind the mask said, rocking back and forth uncomfortably on their feet.  “They brought a lot of people... There’s even rumours about a prodigy by the name of Arima. It looks like it’s better put together than their usual trips down here. You need to take the kids and leave; they were talking about One-Eyed Ghouls.”

“You’re sure about this?”  Noroi demanded, his fists clenching nervously,  “You’re completely certain they’re looking for Eto and Ken?”

“I’m not completely certain, but who else could they be talking about, Noroi?  Take them and run.”  They swallowed,  “Kuzen would understand if it wasn’t safe to keep them here.  You know that.”

Noroi nodded after a moment, poking his head back inside.  “Stay here, Ken,”  he ordered,  “Don’t make any sounds.  Don’t leave this spot.  I’ll come back for you.  Do you understand me?”

Ken nodded nervously, watching Noroi for a moment, letting the man disappear.  Looking around in fear, Ken closed his eyes and began to listen to the outside world.  He could hear and smell the blood, and the screams from a few people, but with how far the tunnels stretched…  It could be right outside the door, or it could be kilometres down.

So after what Ken thought was a while, he pushed his head out the door.  “Noroi…?”  He called softly, shaking as he listened to the screams and clash of metal on flesh.

No…  No, those were investigators, weren’t they?  Investigators fighting ghouls, and…  Ken ran out, trying to follow Noroi or Eto’s scents in an afraid attempt to find them.  They had to be nearby, they just had to be.

He tried to push thoughts of Eto and Noroi dead, torn open by investigators—tried to push the thoughts of faceless investigators using Eto and Noroi as quinques to chase him down.  They had to be fine!  They just had to be.

Making what he thought was a turn out into the main corridor, Ken looked around once more, beginning to gasp for air.  It hurt to breathe, and Ken found his thoughts racing a million ways at once, unable to get any of them to stay still while he panicked.  Right…  Right, there had to be a perfectly reasonable thing going on.  There just had to be.

But ‘perfectly reasonable’ flew out the window with the same rapid screams that came when an investigator came in, shooting at Ken.

It was Ken’s own screams, but he reacted automatically to protect himself—his kakugan and kagune activated, the armor of his kakuja spreading out over him to defend himself, before he screamed, running in, ready to attack.  The blade of the ukaku wing made a thin, deep cut, severing the human’s head entirely, not stopping and plowing through the bone.

At first, the head stayed on, and the investigator went to turn, but as the corpse went to turn, the head fell off, the body slumping over. Ken swallowed, before he took off running, thankful for the armor that his cannibalism had given him.

This hadn’t been the first time he had technically killed, but… it was the first time he had killed without Eto’s help. It felt. Odd. He didn’t like it. But it was fine, because it was self defense, right?

There had to be a way to find Eto.  Ken continued to run, hoping Eto had gone towards the exit to the surface.  She had to have…  That was the only way that she could have gotten away to safety; Ken was able to hear names being said, and that was causing him to become more, and more afraid.

“Are you sure you said he went down this way?”

“Yeah.  I mean, unless you think that other One-Eye was down this way.”

 _Other_ One-Eye?  That…  That had to have meant they saw Eto.  And if they saw Eto…  

“Yeah, but I think the others have cornered the One Eyed Owl already, so are you absolutely sure this is the right way?”

“I know where I’m going!”

Ken took off running the other way, hitting a dead end and swallowing as the small group of investigators—three of them—turned the corner as well.

“Great.  I hate the young ones,”  one of them drawled out, drawing what looked like some long, wickedly curved blade.

“Then I’ll handle it,”  another bantered back, drawing a long, large staff with a big, flattened end.

“Hey—it looks like the same markings as the other group reported in on the first kakuja.”  The last one said calmly,  “Maybe we ought to—”

Ken didn’t give them time to react, taking off running as he shot out quick bullets from his kagune.  Moving as fast as he could, Ken found his way out to the main tunnel, sprinting to where he knew the side one that would open to the grate and up onto the surface would be.

Eto… was she alright? He was so scared… what if she was dead? Was that how they knew there was more than one One Eyed Ghoul? Sure, some people had seen their kakugan, but hadn’t they been careful enough? God… Eto. She might have been killed...  

“Noroi? Eto?” he called, but no one answered. All he could hear was fighting. The smell of blood hit his nose, and oh god—he was pretty sure he could smell Eto’s blood. But where, where was she? Was she alive?

He heard more voices coming—likely back up for the other investigators he had fought. They, too, spoke of a fight with some One Eyed Owl, and of a person named Arima.

Ken swallowed, making a sharp turn. He had to get out of this hell hole. God… Eto… was she alright? She had to be this ‘owl’, though he had no idea where this name even came from or what it meant.

Ken was terrified for his sister. He knew Eto. She wouldn’t stop fighting until she couldn’t any longer. And if she was dead, so was Noroi; he would have tried to protect her with everything he had.

There was hope, though… Maybe they’d get away.

Ken headed for another exit he knew of, hoping no one would catch up to him while he pried the metal grate off it. There was a reason they didn’t use this way, after all, since it took a lot more strength.

Ken sniffled as he pulled himself up, feeling his kakuja and kagune dissipate, before he pulled himself up and out of the grate entirely, beginning to look around.

He was thankful it was nighttime.  There would be no way to explain what he was, not without someone calling the CCG to report him in.  Ken began to walk, trying to put on as much distance between him and the entrance to the twenty-fourth.

He sobbed as he did his best to stay off of main roads, and cling to the sides of buildings.  He’d have to find some place to hide…  Some place to clean the blood off of his hands...  He was so tired already, not sure he’d be able to make it to some safe place.

“Are you lost?”

Ken jumped at the voice from behind him, and he spun around.  He tried to put up as much of a glare that he knew Eto would give, and Ken backed up defensively.

It was an old man.  A ghoul, obviously; Ken could smell that as clear as day.  Had Ken accidentally stomped onto someone’s territory?  He couldn’t fight right now…  He had to put as much distance between him and the investigators as possible.  He had to get away, had to get somewhere safe so he could go find Eto again. If she was alive, anyways.

“What’s it to you?”  Ken hissed out, trying his best to seem intimidating.

“Generally children aren’t covered in someone’s blood and running around late at night,”  the man replied calmly, extending a hand out to Ken,  “My name is Yoshimura.  I own a coffee shop that protects ghouls like yourself.”

Ken swallowed in fear, but upon feeling his eyes water, he shook his head.  “I can’t go… I have to find my sister. And Noro. If I don’t, they could…”  And then, it set in then.  The reality that Eto and Noro were possibly—likely—dead pushed Ken down under his own emotional sea.  They were not coming back.  They were never coming back, were they?

Ken began sobbing then, his hands going to hug himself as he tried to curl up.  “I th-think… that th-the Doves kuh-killed my family…”

“Th-they brought some kid.  I heard them call him Arima,”  Ken kept sobbing, his body shaking like he had nothing left in him.  He tried to wipe his tears away, but only managed to smear blood on his face.  He wasn’t sure how long he cried to this man, but Ken gladly let himself be picked up, and gladly let himself be taken by to this coffee shop that was called Anteiku.

The man’s arms were warm, safe… they reminded him of Noro’s, and of arms he had long since forgotten.

* * *

“Is the kid alright?” Yomo asked, leaning against the couch in the break room.

“He is, just asleep. I had him take a bath as well,” Yoshimura said, sitting down on the couch. He sighed, leaning forward to rub at his face. “I’ll get him some food when he’s awake.”

After a moment’s silence, Yomo spoke again. “Why bring him back here? After all, you were the one who had him taken to the twenty-fourth in the first place.”

It was true… after all he had done with his children, doing what he could to cover up their birth, giving them to his ally Noroi to take care of in the twenty-fourth, along with their mother’s journal so they’d have something, anything, to connect them to their parents… It was to protect them, to protect them from V, so why suddenly let Ken back into his life?

The answer was simple. So simple he wished he had realised it sooner.

“...I fear, from what the boy told me, that I may have made the wrong choice,” Yoshimura said, leaning back in the couch. When Yomo didn’t reply, Yoshimura continued. “One of the twins, likely Eto—his sister—ended up stirring up trouble. I fear that they may have learned of the existence of her brother some way, likely from some sort of eye witness or even a ghoul they took to Cochlea.”

Yoshimura made his way to his china cabinet, staring at the tea cups behind the glass. “The CCG sent down a force to kill them. I don’t know much else past that, but I’m sure we’ll hear more about it soon enough. Still, from what I was told by Ken… I think my actions may have indirectly lead to the death of my daughter and my… my friend.”

He swallowed, eyes wandering over the ornate patterns on the cups. “I didn’t want for this to happen… this was the exact opposite of why I sent them there. I knew the risks, of course, but I thought it was for the best. Now I’m not so sure.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Yomo asked, looking at the cups himself.  
  
“I’m going to have Ken live with me, so I can keep an eye on him. Keep him out of trouble and help him recover from the trauma of losing two people he clearly loved deeply.” Yoshimura looked away from the cabinet, taking his seat on the couch again. “I can't afford to lose another child.”

“And what if V comes for him?” Yomo prodded, looking concerned.

“I’m not sure. I’ll make sure Ken is… is prepared for that, when it comes. Give him the knowledge and skill so he can be prepared to do what needs to be done—whether it’s running or fighting. But for now, I’m going to try and give him a normal, happy life. Or, as much as one as I can provide. Can you keep an eye on him for me, Yomo-san?”

Yomo closed his eyes, giving a little nod. “Of course.”

Yoshimura smiled sadly. “Thank you,” he said, as Yomo made to leave. Yomo merely grunted in reply, but Yoshimura knew he could trust him.

Yoshimura stood again, eyes locking back onto the tea cups. “Ukina, I’m so sorry… This is what I should have done from the start. I hope you understand that I never wanted it to go this way.”

* * *

“Noro! Noroi! Where are you? It hurts, it hurts, it _hurts_ \--”

“...Eto…”

“...N-Noroi?”

Eto found herself choked up in pain—physically and emotionally.  It had taken every bit of her own strength to fight off the constant attacks from the doves, but she had managed, somehow.  That man, with the blue hair and glasses… he’d make him pay. She gripped her arm, trying to stop the blood flowing from the stump.

She’d make them all suffer...

“Noroi…  I can’t find Ken.”  Eto tried to keep her voice quiet, but she shook her head anxiously, trying to listen for any sound that may indicate her brother was still alive down under the tunnels,  “Please… Please, say you’re okay!”

There was nothing coming from Noroi’s body.  The older ghoul looked mangled at best, left to die, and Eto sobbed, trying to pull him close.  “No, no, get up!  Please…  Please, don’t die down here.  Don’t leave me alone.”

“Noro... don’t leave me all alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> our fate ahead won't be denied


	3. authors note v2 (to delete)

Hey anodyneavian here

i orignally deleted my authors note bc i was kind of embarassed about it and feeling better about TG as a whole but!

some shit happened, and so ill sum up my last authors note: thank you all for the support on this fic, but right now it is up in the air if we'll finish it. We have most of it planned out, but unfortunately I feel very uncomfortable with TG:re and Ishida's transphobia, and the fandom transphobia and harassment of me (and apojiiislands) make me very uncomfortable and I'd rather not be around it. Recently I've had issues with people harassing me when I talk about not liking the writing in :Re and my want to write my own ending, including making a new blog to continue to harass me on tumblr after I block them, as ell as people lying about my co-writer and saying he was suicide baiting a popular writer in the TG fandom despite the fact that he'd never do that.. 

Thank you for your support--it means a lot to me, especially, because while apojiiislands was a huge help, the original Idea was mine and I'm glad people like it so much, and like both of your writing. I would love to finish it, but as I said. I don't know. I thought maybe I would, but then I got harassed when I talked about wanting to write a TG fix it fic and it's made me unsure if I should write for TG (But Ill keep writing in general) if im just going to keep being harassed. But again, the hope is I will be able to continue it when I have the chance. If not maybe someone else can take over. Thank you all again, you guys kept this fun. Seriously, if I do continue this, its because of you guys--i really love the support youve given and i really do love this AU. Take care! Love, Britt


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